Migrants in hiding as Mauritania pushbacks drastically cut Europe arrivals

Features|MigrationMigrants in hiding as Mauritania pushbacks drastically cut Europe arrivalsFollowing an EU deal, Mauritanian authorities have rounded up and deported thousands of people to Mali and Senegal.ListenListen (9 mins)SaveClick here to share on social mediashare-nodesSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoMohamed says he was arrested and paid a bribe despite being processed as an asylum seeker [Shola Lawal/Al Jazeera]By Shola LawalPublished On 28 Apr 202628 Apr 2026Note: Al Jazeera is withholding some details of interviewees, such as surnames, to protect their identities.Nouakchott, Mauritania – In her dimly lit apartment in a quiet suburb of Nouakchott, Francina folded up laundry scattered on a low bed in the corner. Insects gathered on the floor.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4‘Xenophobic’: Neighbours outraged over Mauritania’s mass migrant pushbacklist 2 of 4‘I’ll go back’, say African migrants deported in campaign by Mauritanialist 3 of 4Founded as a refuge from US racism, Liberia must not help enforce it nowlist 4 of 4Mali imposes retaliatory visa bond fees on US travellersend of listA native of the Republic of Congo, the 23-year-old has been on the road – alone – for as long as she can remember. She was first displaced after her parents were killed in a bloody conflict in Congo, after which she fled to Mali, where a fellow Congolese housed her. When the woman who welcomed her died, however, she was forced onto the streets.When Francina arrived in neighbouring Mauritania in 2023, things were steady at first.She felt welcomed by friendly locals and landed a hostess job in the capital. But early last year, police officials in white buses began approaching people who “looked like” migrants on the streets, grabbing and detaining them to be deported, she said.“Now, we can’t go out,” she told Al Jazeera. “Sometimes we ask people who have papers to go and buy bread for us.“[The police] already caught me twice, and they asked me to pay 25,000 Mauritanian ouguiya [$623] each time. That’s too costly for me.”She is one of four people in Nouakchott who told Al Jazeera they fear being deported or worry about having to pay bribes amid a mass deportation campaign by the government. They have resorted to hiding in the shadows in a country they once felt welcome in, sneaking out at dusk and creeping back in the dark. Advertisement Rights groups, including a United Nations expert panel, have raised concerns about the legality of arrests and forced deportations under international refugee law. Some have accused authorities of complicating the process of obtaining legal papers intentionally by delaying procedures to limit the number of those who can stay.Al Jazeera has contacted police and government officials in Mauritania for a response.Authorities have in the past said they are targeting only undocumented people.Typically, migrants are rounded up and deported without notice, with some unable to take their valuables with them. Mauritanian media have reported that hundreds of deportations of undocumented migrants took place in 2025, as well as of people whose permits had expired.Human Rights Watch, citing government figures, said 28,000 people were “expelled” in the first six months of 2025. Al Jazeera was unable to verify that figure independently.‘We need them here’Aicha, a Sierra Leonean, told Al Jazeera that officers grabbed her at a market in February. She was then driven by police over to…

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